but due to ship out tomorrow. The recording sessions went well and we picked up a gig last weekend at the Bulls Head Pub where I saw Barbara Thompson and her band back in the summer of 1978. It’s still a really small place. Both Hank and Harold have been working on some new tunes that we sandwiched in at the gig and they went over well. The audiences so far this tour have been just wonderful and I can’t say enough about everyone’s hospitality. I would like to say a word about the recent work my musical buddy Dave Stafford has been doing to bring the website at http://www.pureambient.com to a new level of excellence. Please go visit there and check out the evolving world of music, images and words that he’s assembled and while you’re there grab a free download of musical samplings from the label. I hope to get up to see Dave in Scotland next time I’m this way, but meanwhile my hats off to him and Ken Mistove for all their hard work. I’ll post you folks when we get to the next destination on this musical adventure, thanks again for checking in and listening to the At-The-Helm podcast series. I’m hoping to gather together enough material soon to put a new show up, I’ll keep you posted. Thanks again to the Twisted Papers boys for the great travel images used in this “tour” blog. Have a good day.

after a month offline due to a broken laptop and then no internet access. After the jazz festival in Antibes we cruised thru Monte Carlo then back to Paris for some dates that went pretty well. Hank and Harold have done some new arrangements for this tour that are really hot and the crowd reaction to those and the new singer has been great. Eddie says we may try to book some studio time while we’re here to get a few tunes down while they’re fresh. I don’t know what else is coming up but I’m sure Mr. Ersatz will let us know soon. Meanwhile I’ve been thinking of the past a bit and have to mention that 30 years ago today I was outside Toronto Canada for the Heatwave Festival with about a 100,00 other folks enjoying 12 hours of the music of the day. It was a great show. you can find all the details online if you like. Thanks to Curt, Donna, and Steve for the company on that musical adventure then and thanks to all you for joining me here for my journey’s now. Have a good day, more soon. Thanks again to the Twisted Papers folks for the vintage travel materials featured in this blog.

My apologies for being off the radar for so long. the last few months have been busy but not very musical. Many thanks to all the new folks who have come to read this blog and enjoy the podcast series. I see from statistics that a lot more folks have been listening to the at-the-helm series lately and I hope it’s been enjoyable for them. A couple of musical things have been going on. I’ve started work on the music for “Omegastop” the next film from Ian Helm, but the going is slow so far. Some followers of this series will remember other pieces written for possible use in this film featured as parts of Episodes 32 & 33 . I’ve been practicing my mandolin and hope to include it in the soundtrack work also. Speaking of practice , I spoke with Eddie on the phone yesterday and he confirmed that the orchestra is set to sail July 1st for a 12 week tour and he’s found a new female singer that he’s crazy about. Should be fun, I’m starting to pack, I’ll be blogging from the road again.

So what’s up with the picture above? Well it’s just a little memento from a great show I went to on May 22 of this year down in Denver CO which featured (as you can see) That 1 Guy and the Magic Pipe. I had seen him in November of last year at a different venue and was floored by his entire show. It was nice to bring other friends along to share this unique and entertaining artist’s work. I met him briefly before the show and shared my enthusiasm for his current recording which is called “Packs A Wallop!” A very aptly titled collection from a great musician and genuinely nice guy, don’t miss this artist when he comes to your town. My son Ian has put together a little video piece for one of the tracks from the new CD and it’s featured on the official website. You can also see it here:

So that’s it for now, more coming soon. Thanks for stopping by and have a good day.

is here and now. I’ve scrapped the final interview show and will leave you instead with some thanks and a word on the next step in” My Life in Sound” , the larger setting for my past, present, and future musical works. For starters I’d like to thank my parents for always having music playing in the house as I grew up, and for being tolerant and kind toward my musical ventures as both a listener and a player. Great thanks are also due to my wife Sarajane for enduring the many years of band practices,the endlessly repetitive nature of loop based music itself, and all the fun that goes along with that and my cheerful being besides. Certainly thanks to all the people I’ve been lucky enough to play music with over the years: Jim Cunningham, Mike Darrah, Rick McCann, Wally Mitchell, Sarajane Helm, Bob Kelley, Marshall Black, Jeff Buffer, Mike Monett, Gerald Nelson, Dave Stafford, Bret Moreland, Mark Hardgrave, and others I’ve jammed with over time. Special thanks to my children Ian and Andrew for keeping me grounded, pushing buttons when asked, and being good kids to boot. Thanks are also in order for those responsible for my involvement with Guitar Craft especially Mr. Robert Fripp whose patience and dedication has been a moving force in many people’s lives both musical and otherwise, including my own.

This series features over 210 individual musical pieces amounting to over 20 hours of original music.Constructing these programs over the past 2 years has made it clear what needs to come next for me…more music So the past has been mined and it’s time to get on with new stuff, which is why this blog will shift it’s focus to notes from the road as I embark on an imaginary world tour with my very real friend Mr. Eddie Ersatz and his orchestra ( or is it a very real tour with my imaginary friend? We’ll let you decide). At any rate I’m packed and ready to go….next stop Paris. Again my sincere thanks to all of you who have taken the time to listen to the music and read the musings, there are more audible treats on the way and maybe a short film if we can swing it , so please stay tuned, and have a good summer. Photo of the recently completed “Zydescopic (formerly diatonic) Accordion” the most recent musical art work from yours truly.

Show #33 in the My Life in Sound series is the next to last in this retrospective. This time the music is again from 2005-6 and was recorded in my home studio in Colorado. Titles and start times are as follows:

1- Omnistop Intro 00:00
2- A Walk Into Town 02:54
3- April Fools 06:30
4- Fit To Be Tied 11:54
5- Todd Is God 15:47
6- Omnistop Outro 18:06
7- Roll The Credits 22:26
8- The Walk Home 26:03
Performed and recorded by Bryan Helm. All rights reserved by the artist. Tracks 1,2 and 6 contain samples of recorded works by other artists, used here without permission. For more information please visit at-the-helm.us and follow the links. Thanks for listening, next show is all talk and will cover aspects of information from all the music only shows and a couple of other things , so please do tune in. Photo from RMNP looking upstream circa 2006.

Performed and recorded by Bryan Helm. All rights reserved by the artist. Tracks 4 and 7 feature samples of other artists recorded work, used here without their permission, with my apologies and thanks to those musicians. For more info on this series please visit www.at-the-helm.us Thanks for listening! More very soon, meanwhile another photo from the antique farm equipment show of a couple years ago.

in the form of At-The-Helm Episode 31. Show #31 is an all solo adventure showcasing recordings done in my home studio during 2005 and 2006. Tracks and start times are as follows:
1Dustbowlarama 00:00
2- Do The Wobble 02:55
3- Monkey Shuffle 05:13
4- Never Gonna Happen 09:23
5- The Slow Horizon 14:14
6- In Step Two Step 18:39
7- Long Away and Far Ago 21:25
8- Forest of Jade 27:22

Performed and recorded by Bryan Helm. All rights reserved by the artist. Tracks 4 & 7 feature drum loops built upon samples of existing sound recordings not officially sactioned for such use. My apologetic thanks to any artists whose work I’ve sampled to use in my own recordings. I’ve made an effort to note where and when in my works these elements are present. All other instruments in these “solo” recordings are played entirely by me. Best wishes to all in this holiday season and a promise of new music in the new year. Thanks for reading and listening. Glass Christmas tree by Mad Margie